As Columbus Day approaches, the Senate hasn’t approved the two FCC nominees. The government shutdown has hurt the ability of the FTC and others to carry out their responsibilities, said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in a report from the committee majority staff (http://1.usa.gov/1atWQYB). He released the report Friday in conjunction with a committee hearing on the economic effects of the shutdown, which mentioned the slowdowns at the FCC and FTC. Both agencies await Senate confirmation of pending nominees, a process delayed by the shutdown.

U.S. surveillance law needs broad changes that tap both transparency and expertise, stakeholders told the five-member surveillance review group appointed by the White House. President Barack Obama created the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and named the members -- Richard Clarke, Michael Morell, Geoffrey Stone, Cass Sunstein and Peter Swire -- in August (CD Aug 29 p2). The group has operated amid strong congressional pressure to amend or outright end the government’s bulk collection of phone metadata, an ongoing debate in Congress even during the shutdown. The group is scheduled to submit final recommendations to the White House by Dec. 15.

U.S. surveillance law needs broad changes that tap both transparency and expertise, stakeholders told the five-member surveillance review group appointed by the White House. President Barack Obama created the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and named the members -- Richard Clarke, Michael Morell, Geoffrey Stone, Cass Sunstein and Peter Swire -- in August (WID Aug 29 p1). The group has operated amid strong congressional pressure to amend or outright end the government’s bulk collection of phone metadata, an ongoing debate in Congress even during the shutdown. The group is scheduled to submit final recommendations to the White House by Dec. 15.

The partial federal government shutdown, in its fourth day Friday, is raising varying levels of anxiety among members of the communications bar. The shutdown’s effects rippled through the Washington area last week, giving most federal workers an unexpected, possibly unpaid, vacation, and raising some fundamental questions for those whose business is dealing with the government. Further adding to problems lawyers face, the FCC unexpectedly took almost all filings and other documents offline for the duration of the shutdown, a much more draconian response than many federal agencies (CD Oct 3 p2).

The partial federal government shutdown, in its fourth day Friday, is raising varying levels of anxiety among members of the communications bar. The shutdown’s effects rippled through the Washington area last week, giving most federal workers an unexpected, possibly unpaid, vacation, and raising some fundamental questions for those whose business is dealing with the government. Further adding to problems lawyers face, the FCC unexpectedly took almost all filings and other documents offline for the duration of the shutdown, a much more draconian response than many federal agencies (WID Oct 3 p7).

The five-member independent surveillance review group convened by the White House this fall should remember the “severe global economic impact” following recent surveillance leaks, said the Information Technology Industry Council and the Software & Information Industry Association in a Thursday letter to the group (http://bit.ly/1aPjrj4). The review group is tasked with sending surveillance recommendations to President Barack Obama in December. Other countries worry about U.S. surveillance practices, and companies are losing contracts and suffering as a result, said the letter, which represents more than 500 companies based in the U.S. and abroad. They plead for more transparency, oversight and legal assistance processes for the practices. “Specifically, companies should be permitted to disclose the number of government orders for information made under specific legal authorities, including, but not limited to, separate disclosures for Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, and various National Security Letter statutes,” the letter said. “Also, companies should be permitted to disclose the number of individuals or accounts, including accounts of business customers, impacted by the orders received as well as the type of information that is sought by such orders.” The letter also advocated that civil liberties concerns become part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and that certain court opinions be declassified. “We recommend that the Administration reaffirm the separate roles played by [the National Institute of Standards and Technology] and [the National Security Agency] in cryptographic standards,” it said, citing recent concerns raised by leaks and calling for an investigation. Private companies shouldn’t retain data as part of the surveillance program, the letter added, cautioning that retention requirements “could represent a step backward for privacy, given that they would mandate the retention of the same, or perhaps even an increased volume of information relative to what the NSA has been criticized for collecting.”

The five-member independent surveillance review group convened by the White House this fall should remember the “severe global economic impact” following recent surveillance leaks, said the Information Technology Industry Council and the Software & Information Industry Association in a Thursday letter to the group (http://bit.ly/1aPjrj4). The review group is tasked with sending surveillance recommendations to President Barack Obama in December. Other countries worry about U.S. surveillance practices, and companies are losing contracts and suffering as a result, said the letter, which represents more than 500 companies based in the U.S. and abroad. They plead for more transparency, oversight and legal assistance processes for the practices. “Specifically, companies should be permitted to disclose the number of government orders for information made under specific legal authorities, including, but not limited to, separate disclosures for Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, and various National Security Letter statutes,” the letter said. “Also, companies should be permitted to disclose the number of individuals or accounts, including accounts of business customers, impacted by the orders received as well as the type of information that is sought by such orders.” The letter also advocated that civil liberties concerns become part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and that certain court opinions be declassified. “We recommend that the Administration reaffirm the separate roles played by [the National Institute of Standards and Technology] and [the National Security Agency] in cryptographic standards,” it said, citing recent concerns raised by leaks and calling for an investigation. Private companies shouldn’t retain data as part of the surveillance program, the letter added, cautioning that retention requirements “could represent a step backward for privacy, given that they would mandate the retention of the same, or perhaps even an increased volume of information relative to what the NSA has been criticized for collecting.”

Blocked access to the FCC’s website and databases due to the government shutdown is already having an effect on low-power FM hopefuls, LPFM advocates and attorneys said. A canceled webinar that was scheduled earlier this week and a lack of tools that are otherwise available on the agency website are raising concerns among some applicants as they try to polish their applications, they said.

The House passed a series of small appropriations bills on Oct. 2 that provides funding for the National Institutes of Health, the National Park Service and the District of Columbia, among other areas of government. The administration previously rejected the legislation and Senate Democrats are expected to vote down the measures (see 13100212). But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged (here) the Senate to adopt the legislation in an Oct. 3 press release.

Though an FCC rulemaking proposal to eliminate the UHF discount could eventually lead to legal challenges, broadcasters will likely wait for an actual order to be passed before heading to court, several attorneys and a broadcast executive told us in interviews this week. They said broadcasters will wait for an order even though the NPRM proposes applying the new ownership calculation to any new ownership group not in existence or pending by the release of the NPRM, rather than pegging the cutoff to the release of an actual order (CD Sept 27 p1). FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai condemned the timing of the cutoff because it means the proposed law could have real-world effects before going through the full rulemaking process, but broadcasters are still likely to let the NPRM go through the normal commenting process and see what emerges rather than go for an early court challenge, several attorneys said. “I don’t think you'd get much value from a legal challenge” to a law that is still in the proposal stage, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Donald Evans in an interview.